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Year-Round News & Updates on the Minnesota Timberwolves
It's not like it's new news. We all know that Darko Milicic is a player with so much talent and potential, yet no motivation or dedication to do anything with it. Since Nikola Pekovic took over the starting center spot with his incredibly efficient play on both ends of the floor and a GREAT complement to Kevin Love in the low post as the TWolves' new formidable frontcourt. Pek was able to take over the starting spot initially because of a string of injuries to Darko (Milicic had about 3 or 4 different minor injuries that he refused to play through). Nikola got the starting job because of that, but has kept it with his stellar play. Darko Milicic now can't even get off the bench! Last night vs. the San Antonio Spurs, Rick Adelman decided to go with a smaller starting lineup with Kevin Love at center and Derrick Williams at the power forward to match up with the Spurs' frontcourt: Tim Duncan & DeJuan Blair. Milicic was also inactive for Monday's W over the Golden State Warriors. He did start vs. Sacrmento to match up with DeMarcus Cousins, but only played the first six minutes before moving back to the bench. He recieved DNP-CD's (did not play-coaches decision) in the two games before that and was inactive for the game before that. Rick Adelman said following Wednesday's loss, "He hasn't done anything to really give you a lot of faith that he's going to go out and do the job. He's gotten himself out of shape," Adelman said about Milicic. With Nikola Pekovic as the clear future at center for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Darko Milicic-era in Minnesota could officially be over. I would say Darko could easily be an amnesty candidate for Minnesota. With Brad Miller retiring, it's very possible the TWolves will be in the market for a backup center this summer. I doubt we'll see much of Darko Milicic on the floor for the remainder of this season, here's hoping Nikola Pekovic's ankles are feeling better VERY soon. Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES!
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Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio had surgery on his knee yesterday in Vail Colorado. The surgery was to reconstruct two torn ligaments in his left knee. Dr. Richard Steadman, performed the surgery. Rubio went down, March 9th vs. the Lakers following a collision with Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant, when his knee buckled and he collapsed to the floor. It was initially deemed a torn ACL, however during yesterday's surgery they also found damage to Rubio's LCL, which needed reconstruction, as well. No timetable has been set, but typical recovery time is usually 6-9 months. Team officials are optimistic that he'll be ready for the start of next season. Here are our other stories on Rubio's knee: Rubio Has Torn ACL (w/video) & Rubio to Have Surgery on Torn ACL, 3/21. That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! Brad Miller's stay in Minnesota will be just one year as he's made plans to retire at season's end. Miller told reporters before the Timberwolves win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday that he plans to retire at season's end to focus on his hunting television show: "Country Boys Outdoors". "For anyone that is listening, I'm going to retire after this season. It's time to concentrate on 'Country Boys'. I'm done." Miller has been a veteran presence for the TWolves this season and his knowledge obtained from Rick Adelman's system after years with him in Sacramento & Houston. He's been a big help to the Wolves' big men such as Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic, Derrick Williams etc. This ends Miller's 14-year NBA career. Over 14 years, Miller has averaged 11.3ppg & 7.2rpg. Miller has played for six different teams in that time: the Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets & Minnesota Timberwolves. Miller is more of a locker room & veteran presence for Minnesota this season. He's only played in 7 games this season. The Timberwolves hold a $5.1million team option for him next season and are expected to agree with him to a small buyout. David Kahn said that he'd like Miller to remain with the team in some capacity if he's interested. In “Country Boys Outdoors” Miller and his long-time friend Jon Brunson travel the globe, big-game hunting. “Country Boys Outdoors” was selected best new series at the 2009 Sportsman Choice Awards. That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The Minnesota Timberwolves have announced that rookie guard Ricky Rubio will have surgery on his torn ACL, the middle of next week.
Here's the team's official release on that: Ricky Rubio will undergo surgery to reconstruct a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in his left knee on Wednesday, March 21. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Richard Steadman at The Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo. The injury occurred with 16 seconds remaining in the Timberwolves game vs. the L.A. Lakers on Friday, March 9. Rubio, acquired by Minnesota with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, appeared in 41 games (31 starts) for the Wolves this season, averaging 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.22 steals. The rookie compiled 12 point/assist double-doubles and dished out 10+ assists on 15 occasions. At the time of his injury, Rubio ranks 3rd in the NBA in steals and 5th in assists. That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! UPDATE (3/15 @2:22pmCT): The Minnesota Timberwolves will hold on to Michael Beasley and it appears that Kahn didn't push through any last minute trades. Crawford remains in Portland & Blake remains in Los Angeles. I'll redirect you to ESPN NBA for a full rundown of all the trades that happened prior to today's 2pmCT deadline: Here's the link. We should have our Utah Jazz Gameday Preview up within the next hour! Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! UPDATE (3/15 @1:21pmCT): According to an unnamed Western Conference GM, the Lakers are 'closing in' on a trade for Michael Beasley. No details on what Minnesota would get, but that's the word right now, with under 40 minutes until the Deadline. If nothing happens this will be the last update until the 2pmCT deadline. We'll also have our Utah Jazz Gameday Preview up around 3:30 or so. Thanks for reading HOWL and stay tuned! UPDATE (3/15 @12:54pmCT): The Los Angeles Lakers have finalized a deal that will send Luke Walton and a lottery-protected 1st round pick to the Cavaliers for Ramon Sessions & Christian Eyenga. Following that deal word came out the Lakers are still looking to trade for Michael Beasley, and the three-team deal still sounds plausible. This is the epitome of the NBA Trade Deadline, back-and-forth with rumors aplenty! There is a good chance Minnesota stands pat at the deadline and doesn't make a trade. We'll get you another couple updates before the deadline, now just over 1 hour away! UPDATE (3/15 @11:57amCT): According to sources close to the three-team deal, the talks for a trade between Minnesota-Portland-L.A. Lakers have fallen apart. There are a lot of different teams interested in Crawford and according to @RealGM, Crawford has said that he wants to leave Portland and prefers Orlando as a destination. Minnesota is still reportedly in discussions to acquire Crawford, no deal in place though. The Blazers are close to trading away Gerald Wallace to New Jersey for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams & 1st Rd. pick. That's all for now, T-2 hours till the Deadline, stay tuned! UPDATE (3/15 @11:29amCT): Here's your hourly update... In regards to the three-team deal, it's not looking good for Minnesota. There are rumors circulating that the Blazers are talking with the Lakers and the Nets in deals that would move Crawford. I'm not 100% sure the deal is officially 'dead', but it's sounding more and more that way as we move towards the deadline. I still think Beasley will be moved, just not sure he'll end up in Los Angeles. Sounding as though Minnesota has a number of options when it comes to trades for Beas. Also, since the Barbosa trade nothing else has happened. However, Dwight Howard did sign a waiver that waived his ETO and keeps him in Orlando another season. Most recent none TWolves NBA Trade Rumors: Blazers in 'advanced talks' with the Nets about a trade for Gerald Wallace and that a deal is 'close'...Heard from many people via Twitter that Ramon Sessions will be moved as the Cavs don't want to risk him walking away this summer for nothing....A few different teams are interested in the Bobcats' D.J. Augustin...And with the Raptors trade of Barbosa, they're now below the minimum cap space, so more moves HAVE to be made before the deadline.... That's all for now, we'll have another update around 12:30 unless something big happens, stay tuned! UPDATE (3/15 @10:14amCT): As of right now, there is no new news on the deal. According to John Canzano of the Oregonian reports: "Source directly involved in the Jamal Crawford trade said the deal should be done in the morning." There is also a rumor floating around that Minnesota is adding Luke Ridnour into the trade to go to Portland. That's a horrible idea and everyone I've talked to says the same thing. There have been a few trades by other teams this morning. Leandro Barbosa was traded by Toronto to Indiana for a second round pick and the Memphis Grizzlies traded Sam Young to the Sixers for a second round pick. Stay tuned... UPDATE (3/14 @10:36pmCT): I've been saying that the Trade Deadline is tomorrow at 1pmCT, when it is actually tomorrow at 2pmCT, my mistake! I'll be offline for the next couple hours. I'll check in on things before I'm out for the night, so stay tuned for that, but if anything breaks in the next hour or so, I won't have it till later (I have had the three-team trade post typed up for the last 5 hours or so, though--will post it if/when the trade happens). UPDATE (3/14 @9:54pmCT): Both the Trailblazers and the Lakers played tonight. Portland played New York and lost 121-79, but Crawford did not play at all. Los Angeles played New Orleans and won 107-101 in overtime, Steve Blake did play 12 minutes. Crawford's benching was to be cautious as they didn't want to risk injury. Reports before the game said all the trade rumors were getting to him (Jamal) and that before every game he takes a nap, but because of the rumors he couldn't/didn't. He said he was also unhappy because he choose to come to Portland and he wants to remain there. The reports of him & Felton leading a mutiny against Portland's head coach Nate McMillan, would obviously contradict that. All in all the reason a deal hasn't been finalized yet is because two-team trades are usually hard to pull off, three-team trades are ten times as difficult to complete. Word is, the trade could easily go down to the deadline tomorrow afternoon. UPDATE (3/14 @5:45pmCT): The deal hasn't been finalized yet and, in fact, word is both Jamal Crawford & Steve Blake may/could play tonight for their current teams as neither coach has been told by the management to keep them out tonight. There's a chance the deal doesn't get finalized until tomorrow. There's also a chance the TWolves decide to go in a different direction. There is a lot of interest in Beasley and it's reported "the ball is in their (Minnesota's) court". UPDATE (3/14 @4:50pmCT): The three-team deal that would send Beasley to the Lakers and land Minnesota Jamal Crawford is reportedly 'close to completion'. Multiple sources say the deal involves Minnesota's Michael Beasley to the L.A. Lakers, Los Angeles' Steve Blake & a 1st round pick to Portland and Portland's Jamal Crawford to Minnesota. Basically the deal seems to be 'all but signed', we'll bring the conformation when the deal is completed. This post is all about the Minnesota Timberwolves as they move closer to Thursday's NBA Trade Deadline, now less than 24 hours away. We'll provide updates on trade rumors and if it happens--transactions in this post so you can follow all the rumors that are circulating. There have been plenty of rumors of who the Wolves might go after, but we'll only be focusing on reported 'deals in the works'.
1.) A three team trade involving Minnesota, L.A. Lakers & Portland. The only two players that have been reported involved are Minnesota's Michael Beasley to the Lakers and Portland's Jamal Crawford to Minnesota. I assume Portland would also send Raymond Felton to the Lakers (who they've been very interested in) and L.A.'s Steve Blake could be heading back to Portland. 2.) The TWolves have registered interest in Orlando's Jason Richardson. You can find that story here: TWolves Eyeing Two Others. Basically Minnesota is looking at J-Rich, but no deal has been discussed and there's no word on who Minnesota would send to Orlando (though the Magic are interested in Michael Beasley, too). 3.) In that post you'll also hear about another three-team trade that would involve Minnesota, San Antonio & Utah. Utah would send C.J. Miles & Jamaal Tinsley to Minnesota & Josh Howard to San Antonio. San Antonio would send Danny Green to Utah. Minnesota would send Wayne Ellington to Utah. Other players & draft picks are likely to be involved in a finalized deal. 4.) There are two other players that some have speculated Minnesota could make a run after: they include Cleveland's Ramon Sessions & L.A. Lakers' Pau Gasol. That's all for now, stay tuned for more updates thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The obvious names have come up multiple times in the Timberwolves trade rumors, but two more have come to the surface today as we're just over 24 hours away from Thursday's NBA Trade Deadline. The first? According to Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM, the Wolves have talked about Jason Richardson. J-Rich signed a 4-year $25million contract this offseason with Orlando. He has 3-years remaining on his contract worth about $18.6million. It's not surprising that the Wolves have registered interest in Richardson as they're searching for a shooting guard. The report from Rudolph doesn't say who Minnesota would send back in any deal. The Magic are interested in Michael Beasley and a straight-up trade of Beasley for J-Rich would work (financially) for each team. The second? C.J. Miles. A recent report says that the New Jersey Nets are interested in acquiring Miles in a deal that would send Anthony Morrow & Johan Petro to the Jazz for Miles. The Nets are clearly hoping to shed cap space in the effort to sign Dwight Howard in the offseason. The Minnesota Timberwolves have also reported interest in Miles. Like Richardson, Miles is the kind of swingman scorer that the Wolves need, with his ability to play shooting guard. There is a reported three-team deal in the works that involves the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs & Utah Jazz. The reported deal would send Utah's Josh Howard to San Antonio, Minnesota's Wayne Ellington & San Antonio's Danny Green to Utah and finally Utah's C.J. Miles & Jamaal Tinsley to Minnesota. Other players and draft picks are said to likely be involved in a finalized deal. Nothing is imminent but it's reported the teams will continue to work on a deal heading up to the deadline. These two targets for Minnesota adds to a list we've seen grow in the past few days, it includes: Jamal Crawford (original report had Luke Ridnour being sent back, very unlikely now), Pau Gasol, Ramon Sessions and basically every available shooting guard. There's a chance Minnesota could make a trade before the deadline, but Adelman had this to say: "These guys have built a base, and we've got to somehow find a way with these guys. If somebody is added, then we have to look at that. That's why I'm not sure what will happen in this League. If teams makes moves, you might bring in one guy who can slip in and help. But with only 27 games left and no practices, it's going to be hard to incorporate two, three guys in, like some of these teams are talking about if they make a big trade." That's all for now, stay tuned for all your TWolves news and info heading up to Thursday's Trade Deadline 1pmCT. Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The Minnesota Timberwolves signed Ramon Sessions to a deal (basically identical) to that of J.J. Barea & Luke Ridnour prior to the start of the 2009-10 NBA season. During the 09-10 season, he played all 82 games for Minnesota, while starting 1. He averaged 21.1mpg, 46% FG, 7% 3PT, 79% FT, 3.4rpg, 5.7apg, 1.1spg, 12.4ppg & 1.9topg. Prior to the 2010-11 season he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Ryan Hollins for Delonte West & Sebastian Telfair. Delonte was immediately waived (and signed with Boston) and Sebastian toiled at the end of the bench as the team's third point guard. This season, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he's played 39 games and started 4 of those (when Kyrie Irving was out with a concussion). He's averaging 24.5mpg, 40% FG, 43% 3PT, 85% FT, 3.1rpg, 5.1apg, 0.6spg, 10.6ppg & 2.1topg. A recent report says that the Wolves may be interested in trading for Ramon. It's clear Sessions has been on the trading block as he's seen pretty much seen, League-wide as a starter-capable point guard in the NBA. The Lakers have been the team most interested in trading for him, as well as the Atlanta Hawks (who would send Marvin Williams back to CLE in that deal). Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer had this Sunday evening: "The Timberwolves, fighting for a Western Conference playoff spot, might also be calling the Cavaliers after the season-ending knee injury to point guard Ricky Rubio." Clearly just speculation at this point, like most trade rumors, however, most would question: Why would the TWolves want to trade for Sessions after trading him just a year earlier?! Obviously, Ramon Sessions' skillset didn't fit with Kurt Rambis' offense (whose did though?). Rambis was shoving the triangle offense down the throats of the Wolves, when one of Ramon's strong suits is definitely the pick-and-roll offense (the key to Adelman's offense this season). Ramon is a good short range shooter, a poor outside shooter, but not a great defensive guard. All in all, I'm not 100% certain the TWolves need to make a move prior to Thursday's deadline, but like a trade for Jamal Crawford or Pau Gasol, Ramon Sessions is someone to keep an eye on as we approach the deadline. That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! Today we got word that Ricky Rubio would be out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. The hole he leaves with his playmaking ability and at point guard will be hard to replace, but let's take a look at some starting lineup possibilities now that Rubio is out.
First off POINT GUARD... It's pretty clear of who will be starting at point guard. Luke Ridnour will be manning the point spot for the remaining 20-some TWolves games. J.J. Barea will backup Ridnour, once he returns from his sprained ankle injury and until then Malcolm Lee will likely get some run at the guard spots as you can expect his NBA debut vs. the Hornets tonight. SHOOTING GUARD... Luke Ridnour was starting at shooting guard up until now, but with Ricky's injury you an expect that to change....unless Rick Adelman decides to continue to start two point guards and goes with Ridnour & Barea. I wouldn't expect that to happen, though, J.J. will be needed to run the second unit as the team's backup point guard. As such, there are ultimately two options and a potential third & fourth. The first is pretty clear--move Wesley Johnson back to shooting guard. He started the season there but for the past couple months he's played small forward. Our second option? Start Martell Webster at shooting guard and keep Wes at small forward. Option number three: perhaps Malcolm Lee will make a big impact in his first couple games and could start at shooting guard next to Luke, a longshot, but a possibility nonetheless. Finally #4: David Kahn makes a trade for a shooting guard. I see this as the biggest longshot of them all, but if Kahn decides to move someone like Tolliver or Randolph for another guard, it's possible. There is also a chance that Wayne Ellington gets some more playing time--another player to keep an eye on. SMALL FORWARD... If Wes Johnson is moved to shooting guard, the Wolves will obviously need to start someone else at small forward. There are ultimately only two options. Either Martell Webster or Michael Beasley. I'm not sure if Adelman will want to start Beasley again, so my best guess would be Martell Webster at the three. POWER FORWARD... Yeah....Kevin Love is your starting power forward. Barring injuries, Derrick Williams will remain the backup power forward. CENTER... Yeah....Nikola Pekovic is your starting center. Barring injuries, Darko will remain the backup center. There are a far too many scenarios that you could go through for starting lineups, which is something I'm sure Rick Adelman and his staff are going through as I write this. Ultimately we'll find out tonight who will be your new starting five. Also, I wouldn't count on any 'revolving doors' at any positions, Adelman likes stability, so the lineup he chooses tonight could be the lineup we see for the remainder of the season (barring injuries, of course!). That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! David Kahn will be remaining with the Minnesota Timberwolves as he continues to rebuild the Wolves. This is Kahn's third year in Minnesota and although there have been jokes aplenty about his infatuation with point guards and some of his questionable draft picks, Glen Taylor, reportedly wants him back. His signing Ricky Rubio, extending Kevin Love and possibly, most importantly, signing Rick Adelman to coach are definitely the highlights of his tenure in Minnesota. Kahn has two more years left on his contract that are team options. Owner Glen Taylor said Wednesday night that Kahn will be back. "I like David; I'm happy with him." Taylor says that Kahn and him will work on his extending him with that team option at the seasons end. Some are saying Kahn could be in contention for NBA Executive of the Year, with the signing of Ricky & Adelman! Not bad for KKKKKKKKAAAAAAAHHHHHHHNNNNN, the former sportswriter. That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! Not only did the Minnesota Timberwolves lose last night to the Los Angeles Lakers, but they've lost Ricky Rubio, for the season! In the final minute of last night's loss to L.A., Ricky went over to trap Kobe Bryant on the left wing, outside the three-point line. Supposedly, before he could get his feet set, Kobe drove and basically plowed over Ricky. Watching the replay, it appears that Kobe's knee hits Rubio's shin as he goes down. Rubio had to be helped off the court as he struggled to walk. The trainer took a look at it as play resumed. During a timeout a few seconds later, Rubio tried walking on it, but you could tell by the look on his face and the limp in his step--this was a serious injury. Following the game, the training staff reported it simply as an injured left knee. Following an MRI today a number of tweets came from Twitter via Chris Mannix & Jerry Zgoda that Rubio had torn his ACL and would be out for the season (and possibly out up to the beginning of next season: 6-9 months), which also puts him out of the Olympic games this summer. The Wolves will rely heavily on Luke Ridnour, J.J. Barea and Malcolm Lee as they hope to keep playoff hopes alive. Luke Ridnour had previously been linked to a trade that would've sent him to Portland for Jamal Crawford, it's safe to say, Luke's not going anywhere this season (100% okay with that). Luke & J.J. are capable and talented point guards, plus I suppose this opens to door for Malcolm Lee's NBA debut (possibly tonight vs. NOH). Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! **Here's the video from the play that may have cost Rubio it's season**
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Cody AndersonA TWolves fan, bringing you the daily updates. News Archives
August 2017
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